After decades of Hollywood attempting to adapt The Sandman, Neil Gaiman was satisfied with this year’s take from Netflix. The series has been a huge hit for the streamer after plenty of bad press of axing shows and losing subscribers. Through the years of attempts to adapt the comic, the author revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that there was an attempt by Jon Peters, the producer of Wild Wild West and A Star Is Born. The legendary author and comic book writer hated the script enough to call it the “worst script” he had ready “by anybody.” So, he sabotaged the project.
“I sent the script to Ain’t It Cool News, which back then was ready by people. And I thought, I wonder what Ain’t It Cool News will think of the script that they’re going to receive anonymously.”
After sending it to Ain’t Cool News, Neil Gaiman got what he wished would happen. The outlet wrote about the script, showcasing exactly how the author felt about it. The Sandman film was killed shortly after the publication of the article. Peters then went off to do Wild Wild West.
Neil Gaiman made sure the film adaption of The Sandman died
Neil Gaiman gave some of the “really stupid” ideas in the film’s script. It would have seen Lucifer, Morpheus, and the Corinthian were identical siblings. He also noted that there were mechanical spiders written into the story.
When sent the script, Neil Gaiman was contacted by someone in Peter’s office to see how the author felt about the script with the hopes that he would have had a positive reaction.
‘He says, ‘So, pretty good. Huh?’ And I said, ‘Well, no. It really isn’t.’ He said, ‘Oh, come on. There must have been stuff in there you loved.’ I said, ‘There was nothing in there I loved. There was nothing in there I liked. It was the worst script that I’ve ever read by anybody. It’s just not the worst Sandman script. That was the worst script I’ve ever been sent.”
In the interview, he goes into the success of the Netflix adaptation, comic books, and more.
It worked out to wait for the proper adaption as Neil Gaiman sits happily with what came with Netflix. The Sandman became a huge hit as it was number one on Netflix for three consecutive weeks with over 125 hours watched. It is currently waiting to be renewed for season 2.
